Chapter 2
Ding Status
Jason, LV 1
Fortitude: 38/48
Mana: 0/0
Statistics: Physique 15, Mental 16, Presence 8
Passive features(2):
Common: Superior Physique (+3 strength), Strategist (+4 intelligence)
Skills(2):
Common: Power Strike
Epic: The Touch
What the…? As I look around, I see that the shadows have begun to change. They are fading, and where they were, large trees have sprouted, and the buildings have been covered in foliage. It’s like a long time has passed. The surrounding area is like a jungle. I pull out my phone to attempt to call Hector. I have no signal, damn it. I need to find Hector. Until I know more, I have to assume that most people are gone. What are these statistics? I’ve played a lot of games, but Physique? Mental? Presence? What are they?
Ding Prompt detected. Statistics are the combined total of one’s attributes. Each can be broken down, but the three are combined totals of smaller parts.
Physique is broken down into Strength (one’s strength), Dexterity (one’s reflexes), and Endurance (the physical endurance of the body).
The mental statistics are broken down into Intelligence (how smart one is), Wisdom (the general knowledge one holds), Magic (one’s capacity for magic), and Will (one’s mental fortitude).
Presence is the pressure one can exude on others, or hide from others. The pressure is based on how powerful one is. This statistic is broken down into Control (the level of control one has over their presence) and Power (how much power one can exude over others). The power can only be changed by the overall might of one’s statistics.
Well, that’s neat. What are skills, and what are the ones I have?
Ding Prompt detected. Skills are gained by one’s personal achievements. At the start of the system, each individual was granted skills based on their prior achievements. You have two skills.
Power strike: A starter attacking skill. You may spend ½ an endurance point to empower your strike, effectively increasing the power of the strike by 25%. This is the common variant of the trait; this trait can be upgraded through repeated uses and increased understanding of the way it functions.
The Touch: This skill is difficult to obtain. In order to obtain it, you must have turned the tides of eight wars through strategic involvement as well as direct involvement. While you are in combat, your statistics double. While you are in one-on-one combat, your statistics triple (this is a replacement, not in addition to). The activation of this skill enhances one’s perception of the surrounding area by 4 times. This skill costs 4 endurance per minute activated. The increase in statistics is passive and thus has no cost. This skill is epic and can’t be upgraded or found at a lower tier.
Intervene in a war? I’ve logged on to a lot of different games, taken over strategically, and turned the tides, sure, but do those count? I’ve turned the tides of at least 12 game wars, and I get a skill over it? It feels powerful, but I suppose it makes sense, and it is intended for someone with a touch in combat. I feel like I shouldn’t have this. Well, cool.
With my new understanding of my skills, I leave my apartment and go to Alexi’s apartment. The forest looks ominous, and I just ignore it for now. I knock on Alexi’s door, and he soon answers it.
“Hey Jason. I feel stronger; did you get that strange ding?”
“Yes, yes I did. I haven’t really done too much yet, so I didn’t get very much more powerful.”
“Ok, that’s fine. I gained about 10 points in each category, as well as four Skills. I got Detect Presence, Piercing Shot, Uncanny Accuracy, and Lesser Stealth. The first three being Rare, and the latter being Uncommon. How about you?”
“I got two Skills. Power Strike, and The Touch. Power Strike is Common, and the touch is Epic.”
“Nice. We should check the rest of the apartments for others, then meet back here. I’ll take the east wing. You take the west wing. Ok?”
“Sounds like a plan, Alexi. I’ll see you in a bit. I should make it back before you; the west wing is significantly smaller than the east wing.”
“Understood. This should take you 15 minutes, and me 25 to 30.”
We split, and I searched the apartments. I rang the doorbells. None of them answered, and all the doors were locked. All the while, it was eerily silent. No birds chirped. No sounds came from the forest. No cars driving by. I felt very alone, and I didn’t like it. I quickly made my way back to our small section of the apartment complex. I waited for a solid 10 minutes before Alexi showed up.
“I take it you didn’t find anyone?” He asked me.
“No. None of the doors were unlocked either.”
“I didn’t quite have the same experience. I found one of the doors knocked down. There was a man on the floor; something got to him before me. It was dead next to him. He must have received fire powers, it was burned severely. They both passed away before I even arrived.”
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"Well, that’s unfortunate. Actually, maybe not. His having fire powers might have meant he was a threat.”
“Oh?” He gestured for me to continue.
“Well, it seems these powers are based on our past actions. If he had fire-based powers, he might have been someone who liked to light things on fire, if you're catching my drift.”
“No. Not really. He might have liked camping, and he got a skill for fire because he liked to cook things over open flames or making marshmallows. Regardless, we’ll never know now because he died.”
“Yeah, better not to judge him with no information. We should bury him.”
We buried him, lamenting his death. The thing that got him broke the door down; it was massive. It looked like a wolf but was brown and had a hairless face. Not a humanoid face, but a face. It was grimacing. We need to be careful, or else we may end up dead because of creatures like him.
Ding Your kindness to another has been noticed by a higher power. In the future, if you hold another service, your statistics will temporarily be raised for the duration of the service by 5.
“Did you get that boon as well, Jason?”
“Yes. It's best not to think too hard about it. We need to prepare, less we will end up like him. Let's go to the landlord’s office to see if we can find any keys. I doubt he’ll be there; he wasn’t often there before all this.”
Alexi nodded, and together we made our way to the office. Inside, we didn’t find any people. We did find the keys. We agreed that together we would search all the apartments for supplies. In total, we found enough food to last us a few months here if we needed it too. We also found five handguns, as well as a hunting rifle. I took a handgun, and Alexi took the rest of them. He showed me briefly how to aim and fire. The reason I didn’t protest his having so many more guns was simple. I don’t know how to use guns very well. We also found a large sword in one of the apartments. It was a show sword, heavy and dull. I plan to use it as a melee weapon. It is unlikely that other people are the only threats to us, and we can't use our ammunition on monsters if we don't have to. Alexi spotted eyes watching us in the forest several times, but as soon as we both looked at them they ducked away.
“I don’t want to stay here. I doubt our cars work, but I think I can fix my car using the other car parts and the gas we found while we searched the apartments,” Alexi said.
“I agree. It might be safe enough here for now, but soon enough, something like that wolf—no, that abomination—will come around. We aren’t currently strong enough to fight more than a few of them. We need to find other people and greater power.”
With our agreement evident, we came up with a plan. I would watch from a higher vantage point nearby while he fixed his van. His van was originally a company vehicle, but it was marked to be scrapped because it wasn’t maintained well enough. Alexi decided to rescue it and fix it. He bought it for a very small amount and made it his own. He slowly repaired it, and now it needs to be repaired once again. It became roadworthy relatively quickly. It took him only a few hours to fix it up. Then he drove it up. The paint is starting to peel, and it looks older than I remember. He parked it next to my car in the garage before everything changed; it used to be a solid gray, but no longer.
“Jason, I want to reinforce it with more materials before we load it with our supplies. Attempt to strengthen the walls. Also, here are a pair of keys. I have two; now we each have a pair of keys. Never leave your set in the car. I’ll do the same. Operational vehicles are worth their weight in gold now.”
"Hm, that makes sense. We wouldn’t want someone to steal it. Can we make it so no one can hotwire it?”
“Sort of; it’ll take a little while. I’ll need to use some metal to cover it, which will make it a lot harder to do. I can’t make it impossible, but I can make it a hell of a lot harder.”
After the next few hours of work, we increased the weight of it by quite a bit. It took all the gas we have to fuel it, and we need more. Our plan is to make our way to a gas station. I saw one off in the distance when the surrounding area was shaddows. Should have gas there, and maybe a person. We put all the equipment in the van, and the next day our plan is to leave.
The next day
I got up off my couch when I heard knocking at my door. I got up and went to the door and looked through the eyehole. Alexi.
“Hey Jason, are you ready to go yet? I’m ready to go, but don’t feel rushed.”
“Oh; yes, I’m about ready to go. I’d like to bring my cat, Fluffy, if that’s ok. I have a harness, and she typically likes to remain close to me.”
“I don’t love the idea, but I won't stop you. I wouldn’t want to leave a friend behind either. I simply worry she will give us away to other entities in the surrounding area.”
I take note of his phrasing. Entities, not animals.
“I see; not a problem. Fluffy is quiet and one of the nicest cats you’ll ever meet.”
“Ok then. We leave in 15 minutes. I have a watch, and I found another one in one of the other apartments. Do you want it?”
My current watch is a fitness tracker, and as much as I would prefer it over an analogue watch, I can’t afford to say no, so I say, “Yes, I would like a watch. It would help us a lot. My current watch is a fitness tracker and won't last long because we don't have a consistent source of electricity.”
“What about the van? That could charge it.”
“What if we need to leave it at some point, and no longer have the power?”
“Ok, here.”
“15 minutes?”
“15 minutes.”
I nod, and we both go to our apartments. Even with the short time we have known each other, the silent message is clear. He will come and get me when 15 minutes have passed. I sit down, and Fluffy walks quickly up to me and sits next to me on the couch. I smile at my feline friend, and I pet her. She loudly purrs. After about five minutes, I hear someone knocking on my door. I get up, and Fluffy stays on the couch. I look through the eyehole. Alexi and another man are standing there. I walk over to Fluffy and put her in the other room, closing the door behind her. I pick up my handgun and walk over to the door. More knocking. I make sure the gun is loaded and the safety is off. I stand to the side of the door and open it, pointing the gun at the man while I stand to the side of the door.
“FREEZE, DON’T MOVE.” I say it loudly, and it catches both of them off guard. The man with Alexi reaches for something in his pocket, and right before I shoot him, Alexi yells.
“STOP! Jason! This is Officer Jameson. He was discharged from the police force because of politics; he arrested the wrong person. He drank himself till he blacked out. He was blacked out when we raided his apartment, and he was locked in his room. Remember? The one room we couldn’t get open?”
I remember the room he’s talking about, and I lower the gun to the ground, but I’m still ready to shoot. Jameson finally reaches his pocket and pulls out his wallet slowly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t say anything. I’m… all out of sorts. I'm Officer Jameson. You are not under arrest due to extenuating circumstances. I’m going with you. I have a combat shotgun and several Skills. I have the Skill Drinker, the Skill Enforcer, and the Skill Gun Expertise.”
“Do you have a uniform?” I ask him.
“Yes. I wasn’t wearing it because I wandered over here.”
“I need you to understand something. The world is much more dangerous than it was. Some abomination killed someone. We buried the individual respectfully, about six hours ago. We are going to try to find some friends of mine after we get some gas. Officer, would you join us in our quest for survival? Our quest to help who we can?”
“Please call me Jameson. I’ll join you. We should stop by the police station first. It’s likely that, in preparation for riots, they are better stocked than normal. I still have my badge; it wasn't taken. They didn't have the time to. I’ll get my uniform, and we can leave this place. Maybe an officer of the law will have some effect on people.”
He curtly turns around and walks off to his apartment. This hasn’t quite sunk in with him, I can tell. He is just as scared as us, I think. Well, I guess we’re a group. The three musketeers? No. We’re something else. I just have to figure out what.
End of chapter